Dr. Drew Pinsky Biography

Summary

"David Drew Pinsky" (born September 4, 1958), better known as "Dr. Drew", is an American radio and television personality and board-certified internist and addiction medicine specialist. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, "Loveline", which he has hosted since 1984. On television he produces and hosts the VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" and the MTV show "Sex...With Mom and Dad". In 2009 a spinoff of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" premiered named "Sober House".

As a medical doctor, Pinsky is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Medical Director for the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California, staff member at Huntington Memorial Hospital, and a private practitioner.

Career

As "The New York Times" described it in February 2008, Pinsky's dual career in medicine and the mass media has required him to 'navigate a precarious balance of professionalism and salaciousness.'

"Loveline"

In 1984, while still a medical student, Pinsky started appearing in 'Ask a Surgeon', a new segment of a Sunday night KROQ show hosted by Jim 'Poorman' Trenton and Swedish Egil. 'Ask the Surgeon' soon combined with 'Loveline', another Sunday night segment, into a show of its own, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky.

"Loveline" went national in 1995, and the television version launched on MTV the following year, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla. The exposure on both radio and television made Pinsky the 'Gen-X answer to Dr. Ruth Westheimer, with an AIDS-era, pro-safe-sex message.'

The MTV show ran for four years, while the radio show continues on today.

Other radio work

On November 27, 2007, Dr. Pinsky began "Dr. Drew Live", another nationally syndicated talk radio show where he focused on a wider genre of health issues. It originated from KGIL in Los Angeles, originally airing weekdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm PT Although the show was canceled in December, 2008, as of February 28, 2009 the show's website is still up and old shows can still be downloaded and listened to via the website.

Other television work

In addition to his radio show and medical career, Pinsky also has gained fame on television talk shows. He served as 'health and human relations expert' on the first season of the U.S. TV series "Big Brother" in 2000. He has also hosted his own television series, "Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew", on the Discovery Health Channel. His latest series on the same network is called "Strictly Dr. Drew," addressing everyday health issues, premiered on July 25, 2006, and continues to air weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm PT.

Pinsky starred in "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew", a reality television show which involves celebrities in a drug rehabilitation facility. The show was filmed at Pasadena Recovery Center. He served as the resident medical expert. The series premiered January 10, 2008 on VH-1. Drew hosted a second season of Celebrity Rehab, with Sober House beginning its first season in January 2009. Celebrities from both seasons shared and continued their recovery in a sober living facility.

Dr. Drew also has a 30 minute TV series on MTV called "Sex...with Mom and Dad". It airs weekdays at 7PM EST.

Dr. Drew makes frequent guest appearances on a variety of news programs where he usually gives his observations on the relationship between controlled substances and high-profiled individuals. He has frequently given his views on the deaths of people such as Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson, arguing that their fates should set examples of the seriousness of misusing drugs .

Other work

Pinsky's $20 donation for paint gave him one of the thousands of producer credits for the "The 1 Second Film".

In 2003, Pinsky authored "Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again," recounting his experiences as the Medical Director of the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at the Las Encinas Hospital drug rehabilitation clinic in Pasadena, California. He also contributed to the book "When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know About OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs," published in 2004.

Pinsky speaks at college and university campuses throughout the United States, on his own and, previously, with his former "Loveline" partner Adam Carolla.

Other work in the media

Amid the dot-com boom, Pinsky co-founded an Internet-based community and advice site for teenagers called "DrDrew.com" with Curtis Giesen. Among their early backers was Garage.com. DrDrew.com soon ran out of funding, and the company was sold to Sherwood Partners Inc., a corporate restructuring firm, which sold the remnants to DrKoop.com in November 2000. Pinsky refrained from any affiliation with the site, though the site hosted articles he wrote in 2000-2001. In early 2009 Dr. Drew regained control over the domain name with intention of developing a new site.

Career as actor

Dr. Drew Pinsky made his official acting career when he appeared on the hit TV show 'Dawson's Creek'. Other TV appearances (acting, not himself) include 'Family Guy', 'The Adam Carolla Project', 'Minoriteam', 'Robot Chicken', 'My Gym Partner's a Monkey', and 'Code Monkeys'. Dr. Drew has also been in the hit films, 'New York Minute' starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and 'Wild Hogs', starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy.

Honors

Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky is named in his honor.

Dr. Drew was honored with the Larry Stewart Leadership and Inspiration Award at the 12th Annual PRISM Awards in 2008.

Credentials

BA Amherst College

MD University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Residency Internal Medicine, Huntington Memorial Hospital

Board Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine

Board Certified, American Society of Addiction Medicine

Member of American College of Physicians

Licensed Physician and Surgeon in the State of California since 1985

Personal life

Pinsky was born in Pasadena, California and attended Polytechnic School. His father, Morton Pinsky, is a retired physician; his mother, Helene Stanton, is a retired singer and actress. He majored in biology at Amherst College, graduating in 1980, and earned his M.D. at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1984. He served his residency at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, and eventually became chief resident there before moving into private practice. Pinsky married in 1991, and he and his wife (Susan) had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in 1992. Pinsky has stated several times on "Loveline" that he was a contestant on an episode of "Wheel of Fortune" in 1984, where he received forty gallons of Sunny Delight and a year's supply of Turtle Wax as consolation prizes.

He lives in Pasadena, California. In addition to his hobby of traveling, Dr. Drew stated on a June 24, 2009 episode of Loveline that at one point, he was torn between practicing medicine and becoming a professional opera singer. The show played a clip of a section of an aria he had sung on the air and the guest host, Jamie Kennedy, was clearly impressed. Dr. Drew stated that he auditioned for a celebrity singing show, but that the show passed on his appearing when he made it clear to producers that he could not sing pop songs, but was a trained operatic singer.